The Local 913: Scratchy Blanket

The indie rock band Scratchy Blanket were formed by married couple Chloe Hodgkins and Shannon Keating about 4 years ago. Lead vocalist Keating has found being in a band a helpful way to present herself properly to people.
“I was voted most shy my senior year of high school. I was so mad about it because I just always tried to be friend with everyone. I didn’t feel shy. I just feel like I didn’t enjoy high school and didn’t have a lot to say.
[For] whatever reason, I appear shy. But being in a band and being able to write my own lyrics and present myself in a way that I chose and I’m comfortable with, that’s a good way to show who I really am.”
Cats play a big role in Scratchy Blanket’s identity as a band. The band agreed to play a local music fest as a motivation to write songs. However, 2 days before the live set, they had not started writing.
“And then the cats were just sort of walking around… being cats. We just started writing a song. We wrote three songs that day!
I think the first time you hear the songs about the cats, they could be about cats, but you could apply it to people, too. A lot of the feelings I have towards the cats, I would have towards other people.”
Check out more on Scratchy Blanket at their Facebook.
Photo by Michaela Keating